GOP leaders of the past decline to say whether they'll vote for TrumpSome legacy figures in the Republican Party are reportedly weighing how public to be about their opposition to Trump ....... Former President George W. Bush will not support Trump's re-election, while his brother Jeb Bush has not yet made a decision on how to vote ......... Former House Speakers Paul Ryan and John Boehner declined to say how they will vote, as did former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday that he will be voting for Biden. ......... Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Fla.), who is not seeking re-election, says he is considering voting for Biden because Trump is "driving us all crazy” and has mishandled the U.S. response to the coronavirus. ........ Retired Adm. William McRaven, who directed the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, told the Times that Trump has shown "he doesn’t have the qualities necessary to be a good commander in chief," and called for "new leadership" this fall.
Analysis: White House, Pentagon tensions near breaking pointThe nub of the problem is that Trump sees no constraint on his authority to use what he calls the “unlimited power” of the military even against U.S. citizens if he believes it necessary. Military leaders generally take a far different view. They believe that active-duty troops, trained to hunt and kill an enemy, should be used to enforce the law only in the most extreme emergency, such as an attempted actual rebellion. That limit exists, they argue, to keep the public’s trust. .......... Defense Secretary Mark Esper, a West Point graduate who served 10 years on active duty, argued against bringing federal troops into Washington. In a contentious Oval Office meeting with Trump and others on Monday, the president demanded 10,000 federal troops be sent to the capital city
Trump demanded 10,000 active-duty troops deploy to streets in heated Oval Office meetingAttorney General William Barr, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley objected to the demand ....... If these governors didn't "call up the Guard, we'd have (active duty) troops all over the country" ......... On Wednesday morning, after two nights of peaceful protests, Esper ordered 700 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to return to Fort Bragg, and then delivered a statement in the Pentagon briefing room that he was opposed to using the Insurrection Act to send active-duty troops into the streets.
After Floyd killing, we need a truth and reconciliation commission on race and policingThese commissions often accomplish what courts can't, such as public accountability and admissions of wrongdoing, and impetus for reforms and progress. .............. The instinct for many Americans with deeply felt grievances is to rage. Decades of protests — many peaceful, some violent — have yielded insufficient progress in the quest for better relations between the police and those who are policed. Criminal trials, civil lawsuits and out-of-court settlements haven’t helped enough. For paradigmatic change, a truth and reconciliation commission may be the only answer. ......... Most commissions lack subpoena authority or the power to punish, except with words. Some even offer amnesty in exchange for the truth. They produce painstakingly detailed accounts of past eras and events, along with a slew of recommendations. In Canada, nearly three out of every four “calls to action” from its commission have been carried out or are in process. ......... Reconciliation between parties to lengthy and wide-ranging conflicts cannot occur in the absence of an agreed upon truth. A TRC’s effectiveness often hinges on whether it gives opposing sides equal chances to be heard and demonstrates impartiality as competing versions of a story are told. ........ the commissions use their bully pulpit, their independence from government, and their detachment from the traditional judicial process, to call for major societal reforms........... While often dismissed as an overly lenient approach, truth and reconciliation commissions and other forms of restorative justice have in many cases led responsible parties to take more accountability than they might have in a courtroom. ........... We have no choice but to work together on a new path for policing in America. We must start with a clearer understanding of what truly ails us if we can ever reconcile our differences.
How Kamala Harris seized the moment on race and police reformCriminal justice reformers say she's neutralized a major liability — her past as a prosecutor — and it comes as Biden prepares to name his VP.......... Since the uprising over the killing of George Floyd, she’s taken to cable news programs and the Senate floor to argue for police reform and reconciliation. ........ She's widely considered to be a top contender for the vice-presidential appointment, if not the frontrunner. ........ Harris, along with her aides and family, kept in regular contact with leading activists and policymakers during her campaign and after she exited the race. ......... She was among the first senators to attend the protests, showing up with her husband and without mentioning it ahead of time to the news media, or her own aides. And in the crush of cable news appearances, she’s laid out an agenda that includes pushing for independent investigations into police misconduct, a national standard for when officers can use force, and Justice Department “pattern or practice“ probes into police departments. ........... Harris, whose parents were active in the civil rights movement, was constantly asked to justify how she could choose to be part of a system she knew was discriminatory. Harris likened it to "going up the rough side of the mountain." And, in the waning days of her campaign, she confided to a group of black women leaders that the pointed memes — "Kamala is a Cop" — "breaks my heart." ......... Portraying herself as a longtime reformer, Harris cited her early re-entry program that provided job training and counseling to former offenders — before “re-entry” became common in the field. Later, as attorney general, she collected and published data on police shootings and in-custody deaths, and was early to mandate officer-worn body cameras. ......... she credited activism around the Black Lives Matter movement with expanding what reforms came to be viewed as possible ........ “All of us have evolved, right? We didn’t wake up woke” ....... “It’s clear she cares about black people and cares about their lives.” .......... Harris’ criminal justice blueprint called for terminating federal mandatory minimum sentences and encouraging states to do the same; ending the death penalty and solitary confinement; and phasing out cash bail and for-profit prisons. It sought to end sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine offenses and legalize marijuana at the federal level.
Stocks Rally After Unexpected Drop in U.S. UnemploymentTens of millions remain out of work, and the unemployment rate, which fell to 13.3 percent from 14.7 percent in April, remains higher than in any previous postwar recession. ........ offering hope that the rebound from the pandemic-induced economic crisis could be faster than forecast. ....... “employment rose sharply in leisure and hospitality, construction, education and health services, and retail trade” ......... at least part of the pain in April was due to people being laid off or furloughed who still had very strong connections to their employers ........ “As good and surprising as this report was, this may just be the low-hanging fruit. These may have been the easiest workers to bring back.” .......... “As good and surprising as this report was, this may just be the low-hanging fruit. These may have been the easiest workers to bring back.” ......... the U.S. economy may be more resilient than many investors and analysts feared ....... Financial markets have been on an upward trajectory for weeks as investors have responded to signs around the world that businesses were slowly but steadily returning to normal and policymakers pumped money into the economy and financial markets........... The data tells the story of an employment rebound as the state and local economies began to reopen and Paycheck Protection Program checks went out, spurring rehiring and bringing workers back onto payrolls. .......... “The economy is still being very much buffered by stimulus,” said Michelle Meyer, head of U.S. economics at Bank of America. “When that starts to wane, we will learn a lot more about the underlying health of the recovery.” ........... it was far too soon, he warned, to declare the economic crisis over, noting that black unemployment had risen even as the numbers declined over all. ......... a 27 percent expanded unemployment rate, which could more closely reflect the share of the labor force whose employment has been negatively affected by the pandemic. ...... Joblessness for white adults fell to 12.4 percent from 14.2 percent the prior month, and Hispanic worker unemployment declined to 17.6 percent from 18.9 percent. For black workers, however, joblessness was up slightly to 16.8 percent, and unemployment for Asians also increased, to 15 percent from 14.5 percent. ......... The employment-to-population ratio for black workers ticked up to 49.6 percent, up from 48.8 percent the prior month. Still, that means that less than half of black adults are working — worse than any other large racial or ethnic group. ........... Gap, one of the biggest U.S. retailers with its namesake, Old Navy and Banana Republic chains, said on Thursday that net sales in the first quarter plummeted 43 percent to $2.1 billion and that it posted a net loss of $932 million. The company, which has nearly 2,800 stores in North America, said that it had reopened more than 1,500 locations and expected the “vast majority” of stores to be open by the end of June. ............ Slack, the business communication platform, said in a regulatory filing that its first-quarter revenue rose 50 percent to $201.7 million and a small loss compared with the same period last year. But the results disappointed investors, who expected greater growth during the pandemic, and its shares plunged.
The COVID-19 pandemic has now claimed over 400,000 lives worldwide, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. The U.S. — at more than 109,000 — accounts for more than a quarter of those deaths. https://t.co/arWCRPbJjU
Unpopular opinion but Trump is correct in his tweet criticism of Colin Powell's record as Sec of State under Bush. They lied to us and led us in a disastrous War on Terror that will never end. Powell in turn is absolutely correct in his admonishment of Trump and Republicans.
— Wajahat "Social Distance Yourself" Ali (@WajahatAli) June 7, 2020
Shouting Into the Institutional VoidDemonstrators are hammering on a hollowed-out structure, and it very well may collapse. ........... In July 1967, immediately after the riots in Newark and Detroit, President Lyndon B. Johnson created a commission to study the causes and prevention of urban unrest. The Kerner Commission—named for its chairman, Governor Otto Kerner Jr. of Illinois—was an emblem of its moment. ........... “What white Americans have never fully understood—but what the Negro can never forget—is that white society is deeply implicated in the ghetto. White institutions created it, white institutions maintain it, and white society condones it.” The report called for far-reaching policy reforms in housing, employment, education, and policing, to stop the country from becoming “two societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal.” .............. It was too much for Johnson, who resented not being credited for his efforts to achieve civil rights and eradicate poverty, and whose presidency had just been engulfed by the Tet Offensive in South Vietnam. He shelved the report. A few weeks later, on the evening of April 4, Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in Memphis. The next night, Johnson—who had just announced that he wouldn’t run for reelection—spoke to a country whose cities were burning from coast to coast. “It is the fiber and the fabric of the republic that’s being tested,” he said. “If we are to have the America that we mean to have, all men of all races, all regions, all religions must stand their ground to deny violence its victory in this sorrowful time, and in all times to come. Last evening, after receiving the terrible news of Dr. King’s death, my heart went out to his family and to his people, especially to the young Americans who I know must sometimes wonder if they are to be denied a fullness of life because of the color of their skin.” To an aide, he was more blunt in assessing the uprising: “What did you expect? I don’t know why we’re surprised. When you put your foot on a man’s neck and hold him down for 300 years, and then you let him up, what’s he going to do? He’s going to knock your block off.” ............ King’s murder and the riots it sparked propelled Congress to pass, by an overwhelming and bipartisan margin, the decade’s last major piece of civil-rights legislation, the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which enforced fair standards in housing. Johnson signed it on April 11. It was too late. The very best reports, laws, and presidential speeches couldn’t contain the anger in the streets. That year, 1968, was when reform was overwhelmed by radicalization on the left and reaction on the right. We still live in the aftermath. The language and ideas of the Kerner Report have haunted the years since—a reminder of a missed chance. ............... The difference between 1968 and 2020 is the difference between a society that failed to solve its biggest problem and a society that no longer has the means to try. ........ The protesters aren’t speaking to leaders who might listen, or to a power structure that might yield, except perhaps the structure of white power, which is too vast and diffuse to respond. Congress isn’t preparing a bill to address root causes; Congress no longer even tries to solve problems. No president, least of all this one, could assemble a commission of respected figures from different sectors and parties to study the problem of police brutality and produce a best-selling report with a consensus for fundamental change. A responsible establishment doesn’t exist. Our president is one of the rioters. ............. Levers of influence no longer connect to sources of power. Democratic protections—the eyes of a free press, the impartiality of the law, elected officials acting out of conscience or self-interest—have lost public trust. The protesters are railing against a society that isn’t cohesive enough to summon a response. They’re hammering on a hollowed-out structure, and it very well may collapse. ................ If 2020 were at all like 1968, the president would go on national television and speak as the leader of all Americans to try to calm a rattled country in a tumultuous time. But the Trump administration hasn’t answered the unrest like an embattled democracy trying to reestablish legitimacy. Its reflex is that of an autocracy—a display of strength that actually reveals weakness, emptiness. Trump’s short walk from the White House to St. John’s Episcopal Church had all the trappings of a strongman trying to show that he was still master of the country amid reports that he’d taken refuge in a bunker: the phalanx of armored guards surrounding him as he strutted out of the presidential palace; the tear gas and beatings that cleared his path of demonstrators and journalists; the presence of his daughter, who had come up with the idea, and his top general, wearing combat fatigues as if to signal that the army would defend the regime against the people, and his top justice official, who had given the order to raid the square. ................ William Barr has reacted to the killing of George Floyd like the head of a secret-police force rather than the attorney general of a democratic republic. ............. The protests have to be understood in the context of this institutional void. They resemble the spontaneous mass cry of a people suffering under dictatorship more than the organized projection of public opinion aimed at an accountable government. They signify that democratic politics has stopped working. They are both utopian and desperate............. the overwhelming message of the protests is simply “end racism,” which would be a large step toward ending evil itself. ......... For white protesters—who are joining demonstrations on behalf of black freedom and equality in large numbers for the first time since Selma, Alabama, 55 years ago—this demand means ending an evil that lies within themselves. It would be another sign of a hollow democracy if the main energy in the afterglow of the protests goes into small-group sessions on white privilege rather than a hard push for police reform. ........... The immediate context of the protests helps explain their breadth and intensity: three years of the bigoted and cruel presidency of Donald Trump; three months of the worst pandemic in a century, with more than 100,000 Americans dead and 40 million unemployed. Trump’s utter failure to protect Americans from COVID-19 and his indifference to suffering that fell most heavily on poor, black, and brown people, and to the economic ravages that followed—injustice on this scale burned like smothered coals in millions of homes and hearts during the months of quarantine. The easing of the lockdown and the video of a man’s life being crushed out of him came at the same moment, and the anger received a tremendous burst of oxygen............. the collision between pandemic and protest .......... The coronavirus doesn’t care if it’s stopped trending on Twitter. ........... it’s impossible not to worry that the curve, finally bent in New York and other cities, is about to spike upward .......... There’s an election coming in five months. It won’t end racism or the pandemic, or repair our social bonds, or restore our democracy to health. But it could give us a chance to try, if we get that far.
India Risks Junk Status As Economy Faces 10% Contraction The problem, of course, is that Indian growth is now grinding to a halt. India’s 3.1% growth from January to March are as good as things get as Covid-19 fallout upends global demand. Former finance secretary Subhash Chandra Garg expects the economy to contract by 10% this fiscal year, India’s first time in the red in more than 40 years. .......... These risks, though, would be a lot less troubling if Modi had used the last 2,200 days to get under the hood of a stalling economy.
Albert Einstein giving a lecture on relativity in 1946 (after the war, before the civil rights movement). His peers criticized this appearance. The press purposefully didn't cover it. He simply wanted to inspire young minds with the beauty and power of science. pic.twitter.com/kLeaoGPMcs
It’s more than 4 arrests: These are some of the concrete actions that have stemmed from 1 week of protests for George Floyd and Black lives pic.twitter.com/0jxgguovGq
- Since 2005 only 35 officers had been convicted of ANY crime after killing someone. Assuming the US averaged 900 police killings per year (a very low estimate), this means cops are convicted .28% of the time. Less than ONE percent.
Yesterday, 50,000 people in Sydney, Australia, defied police and a Supreme Court order banning the planned march, and protested in support of Black Lives Matter. pic.twitter.com/fpxcKRjbW2
‘The only reason we’re here is to make sure you have a voice, that’s it.’ — Flint Sheriff Chris Swanson laid down his helmet and baton to march with #BlackLivesMatter protesters pic.twitter.com/UWHDbcq1LV
The Maine swab factory that Trump visited said that they will have to throw away everything produced while he was there because he didn't wear a mask. https://t.co/jIXnrcTbqL via @politicususa
— Progressive Push (@progressivepush) June 6, 2020
ENTREPRENEURS: All politics aside, this is a stunning rebound in the US stock market, which is a reflection of consumer sentiment. If you had big plans in January for your business, it might be time to pull them off of the shelves once again. pic.twitter.com/2ENAHZv3Be
— Michael K. Reynolds (@M_K_Reynolds) June 6, 2020
Protesters in Seattle gave food to a homeless person sitting inside a tent along the march route pic.twitter.com/nxdpEi50iz
BBC News coverage tonight was little more than an extended promo for the demonstrators, full of heavy editorialising about Britain "not being innocent" and euphemisms about "clashes" with police. A disgrace.
“Agree to disagree” is reserved for things like “I don’t like coffee.” Not racism, homophobia, and sexism. Not human rights. Not basic common decency. If I unfriend you during this, it IS personal. We do not have a difference of opinion. We have a difference in morality.
— Broderick Hunter (@BroderickHunter) June 5, 2020
It amazes me the amount of Westerners who feel they need to "save the #Chinese" from their gov. Most have never been to #China, and in their minds they feel China is like #NorthKorea (news flash - it's not) the world is too diverse for only one type of gov to exist. #democracy
“Public-health experts, caught between their science and their politics, are trying to talk around this harsh fact [that protest are hot spots], and in doing so they’re destroying their own hard-won authority.” https://t.co/DTcvgQgUJo
#Coronavirus | The Kerala government on Friday told the Supreme Court that “guest workers” in the State did not want to return to their native States amid the lockdown.https://t.co/KOBdhiXZcG
This virus is relentless. Iran going through a second wave. In Dezful, a city of more than 400,000 residents, 37 percent of people tested were positive for the virus.
New ABC News poll. Trump disapproval on coronavirus: 60% Trump disapproval on handling of George Floyd's murder: 66% Americans who think his murder reflects broad problems with policing and is not an isolated incident: 74%https://t.co/0ZbkD7n497
How things could go very wrong in AmericaThe chances of Donald Trump being re-elected are falling. That is a source of danger ...... It Can’t Happen Here was the title of a 1930s novel about America. Fascism never came to America — nor is it likely to. But martial law, or something close to the militarisation of America’s cities, is plausible. In the past few days, residents of Washington DC have become familiar with the low-flying helicopters, sand-coloured Humvees, nightly curfews and uniformed men that go with military control. ................ Were these scenes unfolding in Hong Kong every think-tank in America’s capital would be scheduling emergency webinars. As it is, people are too dazed by the novelty to gauge the risk. ............ The Pentagon has no interest in breaking a 233-year habit to not interfere in US politics. ........ As has been said before, Mr Trump is a weak man posing as a strong one. ............. Mr Trump wants Americans to believe that the White House is threatened by domestic terrorists, arsonists, thugs, looters and killers — words he has used frequently in the past few days. US stability is under threat, he claims. The president’s life, and those of decent law-abiding Americans, are threatened by the extremists on the streets. That is the gist of Mr Trump’s message. But it requires a visual backdrop. Hence the hyped-up situation in Washington. ................ Mr Trump’s poll numbers are dropping. He is faced with the triple cocktail of a badly-managed pandemic, the worst economic contraction since the Great Depression and an inability to quell the legitimate anger behind America’s demonstrations. ............. Most of those protests are peaceful. ......... most of the looting appears to have been carried out by criminals under cover of the chaos. ....... I have lived in enough democracies, including America, to know a doom-laden government when I see one. ....... Mr Trump was fortunate to have avoided a real crisis in his first three years. Now he has three on his hands. His instincts are mostly optical. He is threatening to use powers that he does not have, such as sending the army into the streets. But he is refusing to use powers he does have, such as marshalling a national response to coronavirus.............. These are the actions and inactions of someone with little interest in governing. But Mr Trump does have a burning desire to be re-elected. In his mind defeat would lead to the dismantlement of the Trump Organization and his prosecution and possible imprisonment.
What Will It Take to Reopen the World to Travel?Above all, it’s trust. Countries are rebuilding relationships under enormous economic pressure, while keeping a wary eye on a virus that’s not going away soon. ........... In Cyprus, tourists can get in only if they carry health certificates proving they tested negative for Covid-19. .......... International travel has always been a proxy for trust among nations and people, but the pandemic has poisoned the air. Now, relationships are being rebuilt under enormous economic pressure, with a wary eye on a pathogen that is not going away anytime soon. ........ The challenge for every country involves both epidemiology and psychology. Trips for business and pleasure must have enough restrictions to make travelers feel safe, but not so many that no one wants to bother. ............ “This is a global shock to the aviation and tourism industry, the likes of which we’ve never seen.” ......... A reduction in flights will mean more connections and longer journeys, testing travelers’ patience. .......... With every phase of reopening, officials said, more movement means more risk and more work, for governments but also travelers. ......... At many of the world’s busiest airports, which are just starting to see upticks in traffic after declines of 90 percent or more, all employees now wear masks and gloves. In Dubai’s giant mall of an airport, all arriving passengers are now scanned for fevers with thermal imaging technology, which is also being rolled out at transport hubs in Europe and the United States. ............ some being “fast-tracked” with proof of a negative test and an abbreviated quarantine. ............. analysts expect international travel to recover with the speed of a casual stroll. .......... the white-collar crowd — in finance, in consulting — that once traveled without much thought has discovered that it can get the job done without being away from home for 100 or more days a year. ......... “Until there’s certainty, you’ll have people saying, ‘I’ll do the Zoom call, or instead of six trips a year, maybe I’ll do two.’” ......... some regular travelers have learned that they can be perfectly happy not traveling at all. .......... during World War II, when travel was severely constricted, great discoveries occurred as the world’s sharpest minds stayed home and mulled the universe. ........... “Many of us have been saying for years that we have too many committees, far too many meetings and not nearly enough quiet thinking time”
Don't write off China yet, warns GV Prasad of Dr Reddy'sWhile Prasad argues that there is much that stands out about the US as a "leader of the free world, an amazing nation in terms of innovation capabilities and a great democracy", there are concerns today ............... I do believe that China is going to be one of the strongest countries of the world, if not the strongest," said Prasad. Drawing a comparison between China and the US, "the two dominant economies of the world," he asked: "where would you lay your bet today?" ............ China shows "a certain level within the government is a pure meritocracy with best talent going to government. There is a level of competence in the government you will not see anywhere in the world. If you want to start a business, the level of enablement is superb, the way they protect their industry is unparalleled" ............ They have overtaken US last year on the number of patents they have filed. They are leaders in artificial intelligence, renewable energy and biotech. They have identified eight sunrise industries where they will overinvest in .
The US President spoke on vaccines being produced in America. "2 million vaccines are ready to go after it checks out for safety," he said. pic.twitter.com/Ol7qzLUKZC
I can’t wait to see how history books tell the story of this time in our country and this President.
With 100,000+ dead Americans, 40,000,000+ unemployed, and riots burning cities to the ground all over the country... Donald Trump does nothing but praise and compliment HIMSELF. https://t.co/Kezol6rKZh
On June 2nd, a pair of individuals intentionally struck one of our sergeants, leaving him in serious condition. Today, with the help of @USMarshalsHQ, @GTownSheriff, Georgetown Police, and @NYPDDetectives, the individuals were apprehended.
What Will College Be Like in the Fall?The Cal State system recently announced that its 23 campuses will do most instruction online in the fall. On the other hand, other universities, like Purdue in Indiana and New York University, have said they are inviting students back to campus. Schools like the University of South Carolina have decided to bring students back from August until Thanksgiving and then end the semester online, to avoid a second trip back to campus before the winter holidays. ............. With any virus, a big fear is a spread you get when an interwoven community mixes with a larger population — like a college campus in a city. ......... We’re in a global pandemic, and the idea that college life is going to be normal if we do reopen is just a fantasy. ............ students are often silent carriers, because many people in their age group who have the disease are completely asymptomatic. ............ When we reopen, it’s no longer a time of unlimited freedoms. It will be a time of mutual accountability and collective responsibility for the well-being of one another. ............. We can say, “You’re going to die if you don’t do this, or other people are going to die,” but young folks often think that’s not going to happen to them, or it’s not going to happen tomorrow. Making the campus safe has to be about people coming together and coming through for each other. ......... I can’t imagine this working if it’s top down. The community has to collaborate. ........ I was there at the time when the AIDS epidemic began. We had all sorts of policies and practical approaches to dealing with it. We had great massive socially conscious movements to try to do things to help people behave more safely. But the epidemic kept spreading. What worked was developing a highly effective antiretroviral therapy. Nothing else honestly worked. .................. The virus waits for opportunities to exploit human behavior to allow people to infect other people. We expect that there will be those who will not follow the guidelines and that the virus will swoop in. We have to know how we’ll react when things fail and try to limit and curtail the brush fires that will break out. ............ The idea is for a person who is infected to have a single room with a private bathroom. ............. There could be a 14-day quarantine for those who broke the rules ............ four kinds of behavior — sanitary hygiene (washing your hands frequently); reporting your symptoms, including the most minor symptoms; social distancing; and wearing masks. ........... Suppose we start the school year on Sept. 1 with one student out of 1,000 unknowingly infected with the disease. You can think of this as the fraction of the population that falsely tests negative on arrival to campus. Further suppose that the number of people to whom an infected person will on average transmit the disease (the R0, or “reproductive ratio”) starts at 2.26, which is within the range of numbers calculated in the first month of the outbreak in Wuhan, China. If the population is 100 percent susceptible to the disease — in other words, students arrive with no immunity — and there is no social distancing, 85 percent of the students will have experienced infection by Dec. 18. .................. But if social distancing is practiced 50 percent of the time that individuals have potential for close contact, only 0.9 percent of the population will be infected in the same time period. And if there were 60 percent social distancing, the R0 would be less than 1, and only a very tiny fraction of the population would become infected — 0.2 percent in four months. ............... I think you have to say to people who misbehave chronically, you’re being sent home. ........... The members in our local are 85 percent black and brown and often live in multigenerational households, and many of them have comorbidities for the virus. They feel two contradictory things. One is: People are very afraid to go to work. They are very afraid of the public-transit system. They’re very afraid that the institutions may not take the level of responsibility that’s necessary to keep them safe. And I think they’re frankly very afraid of the unknown................. The last thing we need is for people to lose health care in a health care crisis.............. Dining-hall workers, and to some degree custodians who have to clean bathrooms, face significant risks. Anyone over 60 to 65 years old, anyone with comorbidities, accommodation needs to be made for people in these categories, for both staff and faculty, and especially for those who interface with students. ............. The most important thing to protect our staff and our vulnerable populations is testing. We have to have adequate numbers of tests so we can test all our students and all our student-facing staff, including faculty, prior to opening schools for residential purposes. That is absolutely a precondition................... schools could use pooled testing. That means combining several samples and then doing one test on them. If the test is positive, then you’d test each individual sample separately. .............. There are about 11 million undergraduates enrolled in four-year colleges, and that doesn’t include staff who are essential to campus operations. .......... Testing is really the entry-level benchmark to reopen any industry. ........... The culture around being sick at work is you go to work anyway, particularly in the food-service industry. ............ The idea is to keep the same team of workers together so that if someone does get sick, and people have to go home and quarantine, you’ll just have to replace that team. It’s less flexibility for the workers, but it’s good for them in terms of reducing infectious spread. ........... All the institutions that I know of are operating on a grab-and-go system. ........... I also see senior colleagues who are real gems for the institution committed to figuring out Zoom. I have faith that we can figure out a hybrid of some in-person and some video classes. Whatever needs to work, we’ll make work, because the stakes are so high........... the development of critical thinking, problem solving and leadership skills — skills that are so important in this search for equity and mobility — happen within and outside the classroom. Being together, being seen and heard, really matters. Also, for some of our students, they need the housing, they need food, they need safety, they need to be in community. ....... nationally many higher-ed institutions are among the largest employers in our regions. It’s important for us to reopen, to keep people employed, to keep the economic engine running. And I would also say, for some institutions, there is an existential threat that’s out there if they’re not allowed to reopen. .......... We learned this spring that online education is not a perfect alternative to the residential experience. ........... the colleges most threatened economically by this downturn are the smaller or midsize private institutions ......... for many small liberal-arts colleges, and even midsize schools that are private that have some graduate programs, I think they’re definitely in much bigger trouble because they rely primarily on tuition for revenue. Unlike the elite private schools, they don’t have large endowments; they’re basically tuition dependent ............ From talking to small liberal-arts colleges in Connecticut, I know many of them feel that they are existentially threatened by a possibility of having to be online for an entire year. ........ We’ve done an assessment of all of the classroom spaces to see what it would take to observe a six-foot radius around all students. ........... Some West Coast schools are thinking about holding a lot of classes outdoors in the fall. ........ you will see a lot of schools end the on-campus portion of the semester at Thanksgiving. ......... we could extend the school year and make the summer a full session. ........ there is a lot of talk of students taking gap years if school is all online. ............... We were very pleased and actually a bit surprised at how eager students are to come. ........ after a while the mask could morph into a new norm — don’t touch me, don’t get near me. .......... If there were a manageable number of cases, I don’t think we would see the same wholesale movement nationally to send students home and move all classes online again. In the spring, no one wanted to be the first campus to get a case and to have an outbreak, so there was an element of reputational risk that drove some institutions to say, Oh, no, we’ve got to move them off campus immediately.............. Now we know that one of the keys to successfully weathering and containing an outbreak is to be able to test, trace and isolate immediately. Planning for that must be a condition of reopening .......... in the hotel industry. We had the Biogen conference at the Marriott Long Wharf, which turned out to be a superspreader event. The entire hotel industry in the city of Boston has been painted with that stain. .......... It isn’t going to be the same kind of fun, and you aren’t going to have the same kind of parties. But you are going to have great educational opportunities, and there will still be a lot of benefits to take away from it. I think we’re in a world of imperfect choices. And I think everyone has to be a grown-up and recognize that’s where we are.
right now every employer in america is terrified that their black employees will be honest about their work experiences
— Muriel Bowser #StayHomeDC (@MurielBowser) June 5, 2020
"As the Commander of Pacific Air Forces, a senior leader in our Air Force, and an African-American, many of you may be wondering what I’m thinking about the current events surrounding the tragic death of George Floyd. Here’s what I’m thinking about..." - Gen. CQ Brown, Jr. pic.twitter.com/I2sf1067L6
An important step by Governor Newsom. And a big thanks to @DrShirleyWeber and @KevinMcCartyCA for their persistent leadership throughout the years in championing reforms on police accountability, which has made California a model for other states. https://t.co/6EX1oFUOBR
Message from grandma in Moscow: "Maybe now you [Americans] will understand us [Russians] little: what it's like to like to live through an extended civil war, under the rule of cretins and surrounded by their brainless minions. Let's chat tomorrow!"
.@AOC calls for defunding the NYPD during her @NY1 debate against primary opponents (side note—wild to see her debating as incumbent! 2018 we hardly knew you!)
The most obvious parallel to draw between the Middle East and the protests happening around the United States is between the deaths of George Floyd and Khaled Said. But it would be a mistake to stop there, @stevenacook writes.https://t.co/nLfJdsbQtq
The C.D.C., long considered the world’s premier health agency, made early testing mistakes that contributed to a cascade of problems that persist today as the country tries to reopen. It failed to provide timely counts of infections and deaths, hindered by aging technology and a fractured public health reporting system. And it hesitated in absorbing the lessons of other countries, including the perils of silent carriers spreading the infection. ........... In communicating to the public, its leadership was barely visible, its stream of guidance was often slow and its messages were sometimes confusing, sowing mistrust. ............... “The C.D.C. is no longer the reliable go-to place,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, the director of the Harvard Global Health Institute. ......... Even as the virus tested the C.D.C.’s capacity to respond, the agency and its director, Dr. Robert R. Redfield, faced unprecedented challenges from President Trump, who repeatedly wished away the pandemic. His efforts to seize the spotlight from the public health agency reflected the broader patterns of his erratic presidency: public condemnations on Twitter, a tendency to dismiss findings from scientists, inconsistent policy or decision-making and a suspicion that the “deep state” inside the government is working to force him out of office. ............. Given its record and resources, the agency might have become the undisputed leader in the global fight against the virus. Instead, the C.D.C. made missteps that undermined America’s response. ......... “Here is an agency that has been waiting its entire existence for this moment,” said Dr. Peter Lurie, a former associate commissioner at the Food and Drug Administration who for years worked closely with the C.D.C. “And then they flub it. It is very sad. That is what they were set up to do.” ............ The agency’s allies say it is just one part of a vast network of state and local health departments, hospitals, government agencies and suppliers that were collectively unprepared for the speed, scope and ferocity of the pandemic. They also point out that lawmakers have long failed to adequately prioritize funding for the kind of crisis the country now faces. .......... “They are learning at the same time the world is learning, by watching how this disease manifests.” .......... “It’s important to remember that this is a global emergency — and it’s impacting the entire U.S.,” the agency said. “That means it requires an all-of-government response.” ........... Wearing a red “Keep America Great” cap, Mr. Trump falsely asserted that “anybody that wants a test can get a test,” claimed he had a “natural ability” for science and noted that he might hold campaign rallies even as the virus spread. ............ At one point that month, administration officials asked the agency to provide feedback on possible logos — including “Make America Healthy Again” — for cloth face masks they hoped to distribute to millions of Americans. The plan fell through, but not before C.D.C. leaders agreed to the request ............... The C.D.C., established in the 1940s to control malaria in the South, has the feel of an academic institution. There, experts work “at the speed of science — you take time doing it” .......... The C.D.C.’s most fabled experts are the disease detectives of its Epidemic Intelligence Service, rapid responders who investigate outbreaks. ............ the C.D.C. is risk-averse, perfectionist and ill-suited to improvising in a quickly evolving crisis — particularly one that shuts down the country and paralyzes the economy. .......... increasingly bureaucratic, weighed down by “indescribable, burdensome hierarchy.” ............ the C.D.C.’s most consequential failure in the crisis: its inability early on to provide state laboratories around the country with an effective diagnostic test. .......... European travelers had brought the virus into New York as early as mid-February; it multiplied there and elsewhere in the country. In Seattle, a strain from China had struck nursing homes in late February. ........... The C.D.C. could not produce accurate counts of how many people were being tested, compile complete demographic information on confirmed cases or even keep timely tallies of deaths. .......... “We got crappy data,” said Fran Phillips, Maryland’s deputy health secretary. “We would call them up and people would say, ‘Well, I was in China, but that was three years ago.’” ............ Some staff members were mortified when a Seattle teenager managed to compile coronavirus data faster than the agency itself, creating a website that attracted millions of daily visitors. “If a high schooler can do it, someone at C.D.C. should be able to do it,” said one longtime employee. ............... Data is one of the essential tools of public health; Mr. Trump, though, often appears to see it as a weapon against him. He has suggested that testing is “overrated” and that it makes the United States look bad by increasing the number of confirmed cases. He has seized on lower-end projections of the virus’s toll, only to see them eclipsed as the cases and deaths rose. .......... “The scientists at the C.D.C. are still great,” Dr. Jha said. “It’s very puzzling to all of us why C.D.C. performance has been so poor.” ............ Veteran officials at the C.D.C. were not unfamiliar with the ways of Washington. But they had never dealt with a president like Mr. Trump or a White House like his. .......... a second wave of the virus could be “even more difficult” than the first ......... In private, some senior administration officials began referring to agency scientists as members of the “deep state” ........... In late February, Dr. Nancy Messonnier, who oversees the C.D.C.’s respiratory diseases center and had been leading the agency’s emergency response, was sidelined after she issued a stark public warning that the virus would disrupt American lives. The comments sent stocks tumbling and infuriated Mr. Trump, who had not been told in advance. Public health officials, inside and outside the agency, saw her forced retreat as an effort to silence the truth. .................. To the president’s aides, one of the most frustrating moments came on May 1, when Dr. Schuchat published one of the agency’s regular reports on morbidity and mortality without giving the White House any notice ......... Written in dry, scientific language, the report offered a blunt assessment of the virus’s spread, showing how travel from Europe and mass gatherings had accelerated it. Dr. Schuchat went further when interviewed for an Associated Press article — “Health Official Says U.S. Missed Some Chances to Slow Virus” — saying that “taking action earlier could have delayed further amplification.” ............. the president — who the next day would explain, “In America, we need more prayer, not less” — made it clear the C.D.C. no longer had any choice. .......... Doctors and nurses remain desperate for updates on how to protect themselves. School superintendents and college presidents need to decide how to hold classes in the fall. And employers want advice about whether to test all of their workers before returning to business as usual. ............ In a crisis, one of the C.D.C.’s main roles is to explain its guidance and reasoning, provide a rationale for when its thinking changes and acknowledge what it does not know. The agency’s routine in past emergencies was to hold press briefings almost daily .............. it took until April 27 for the agency to expand its list of possible symptoms to include more than a dozen signs of illness that some medical specialty societies had reported weeks earlier. ......... Initially, the C.D.C. recommended that all doctors and nurses coming in contact with coronavirus patients wear N95 respirators, which filter out 95 percent of all airborne particles. But on March 10, with supplies dwindling, the C.D.C. announced that less protective surgical masks were “an acceptable alternative” except during procedures that might aerosolize the virus. Days later, the agency said health workers could even wear “homemade masks (e.g., bandanna, scarf) for care of patients with COVID-19 as a last resort.” ........... N95 and other respirator masks are superior to surgical or cloth masks in protecting medical workers against the virus.
— Paramendra Kumar Bhagat (@paramendra) June 4, 2020
What Will College Be Like in the Fall?Administrators, professors, a union representative and students consider the new realities of life on campus in the midst of a pandemic. .......... With the threat of the coronavirus continuing into the fall and next year, colleges and universities across the country are struggling with whether to reopen their campuses — and if so, how. ........... two-thirds said at the end of May that they were planning for an in-person semester in the fall ............ If students return, what changes to college life will be needed to contain and suppress the virus? ......... ensuring that schools have the capacity to test students upon arrival and at other intervals, as well as faculty and staff members who come to work on campus, and to conduct contact tracing; and providing guidance about masks, physical distancing and density for dorms, dining halls and classrooms. ........... recommends giving schools that comply with the applicable state regulations immunity from lawsuits for infections that occur on campus. ........... hospitals and essential businesses that have figured out how to continue their work without seeding an outbreak in their communities
Horrifying. You start with the tiny possibility that two officers may be walking over to deescalate the abusive one.
Instead, they join in beating a man trying to get out of traffic.
This isn’t a problem of bad apples or incidents. This is an institutional and systemic crisis. https://t.co/eoBXXnNXZV
Shift change: National guard has been replaced with a different unit. One officer identified himself to protestors as being with “DOJ”, another said he was from California, and one has a Bureau of Prisons patch on his vest. No name plates. pic.twitter.com/QIjNlMTfsQ
Barack Obama: "Just remember, this country was founded on protest ... every step of progress in this country, every expansion of freedom, every expression of our deepest ideals has been won through efforts that made the status quo uncomfortable."https://t.co/4wWOItz5Zl
NEW: The protests will likely spread the coronavirus. Doctors and nurses explained to me why they're protesting anyway: The virus is a public health threat — but so is racism.
As one put it, “I’m an African-American first before I’m a physician.”https://t.co/dgcuCOQumJ
